Chapter 57: Chapter Fifty-seven

Chapter 57

Lia’s POV

The square was alive with murmurs, restless bodies shifting against the chill of dawn. Wolves crowded every ledge and shadowed corner, their eyes flicking between each other and the platform at the center where Edgar was meant to stand. The council loomed like carrion birds, their black robes stiff in the wind.

I stood at the edge of the stage, my fingers curled into my cloak to keep from trembling. The square hadn’t seen this many wolves gathered in years, not since the last great battle. And now they weren’t here for celebration. They were here to decide if their Alpha still deserved to lead.

Edgar stepped forward. His figure was rigid, but he carried himself with the weight of a king. Even weakened, even cursed, he commanded silence. The murmurs died.

He spoke low at first, then stronger, each word carrying through the crowd.

Edgar: “Duskwood. My pack. My family. You’ve heard whispers these past moons, about my strength, about my worth. You’ve heard the council question whether I can lead you. Whether I should.”

A stir rippled through the wolves. I saw heads tilt, ears twitching, bodies leaning forward.

Edgar: “You want the truth? Here it is. I was cursed. I bleed easier than I should. I stumble where once I strode without falter. But I am still the Alpha who bled for you. The Alpha who carved Duskwood from ash and gave it teeth sharp enough to bite any who dared threaten it.”

A wolf in the crowd shouted: “Then why hide it?”

Gasps answered. Edgar didn’t flinch. He lifted his chin.

Edgar: “Because an Alpha does not show weakness until he has forged it into strength. And I have. Every scar, every wound, proof that I stood between you and death when others would’ve let you burn.”

The crowd stirred louder, a pulse of agreement and doubt colliding. Malrick, the eldest councilor, stepped forward. His voice was oily, calculated.

Malrick: “Brave words, Alpha. But the pack doesn’t thrive on words, it thrives on power. You admit your weakness, yet you expect us to trust you to defend us when the next enemy comes? Tell me, would you follow a wolf who cannot even stand without shaking?”

Gasps. My heart dropped as all eyes cut to Edgar. His hand on the railing trembled slightly. Brie’s lips curved, smug as a dagger in the dark.

But Edgar didn’t falter. His voice cut sharp.

Edgar: “You speak of power as if it only means muscle. As if claws alone keep us safe. Let me remind you, Malrick, that when hunters descended on your village, it was not your claws that saved you, it was my strategy. My command. My refusal to bend even when we were outnumbered three to one.”

A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. Malrick’s jaw clenched. He opened his mouth again, but this time another voice rose, Brie’s, sweet and sharp.

Brie: “A strategy is worthless without a body strong enough to wield it. Look at him. Look closely, pack, do you see the Alpha you remember, or a shadow clinging to what he once was?”

Wolves turned, whispering, eyes darting between Edgar and me. Some lowered their heads, conflicted. Others stared, hungry for an answer.

I couldn’t stand it. My voice cut across the square.

Lia: “You call him a shadow, Brie? Then tell me, who stood at your side when rogues clawed through your lands? Who bled so your children could sleep safely in their beds? Who gave you the chance to sit on your high seat and wag your tongue today? Same you cursed the child you birth.”

The murmurs surged louder. Brie’s eyes snapped to me, venomous.

Brie: “You have no right to speak, outsider. You are no wolf, no blood of this pack.”

Lia: “Maybe not. But I have eyes. I have seen him carry this pack when others only carried fear. If you call him weak, then you spit on every wolf he’s saved. And I won’t stand for it.”

A younger wolf in the crowd barked in agreement. Then another. The murmurs turned into growls, voices rising on both sides.

Edgar lifted his hand, and silence dropped like a blade.

Edgar: “Enough. This is not a battle of insults. This is about Duskwood’s future. If you doubt me, then say it now. But do not call me a shadow. I am flesh. I am blood. And as long as I breathe, I will not bow to anyone—not to hunters, not to rogues, not to whispers in the dark.”

His voice cracked on that last word, but it didn’t matter. It echoed, fierce, alive.

For a moment, the crowd swayed like a tide. Some wolves lowered their heads in submission. Others glanced nervously at the council.

Malrick stepped forward again, his eyes glinting.

Malrick: “Then prove it, Alpha. Not with speeches, but with choice. Choose a mate worthy of standing at your side. Prove your future isn’t as frail as your body.”

The words struck like a lash. All eyes flicked to me. My stomach knotted, but I refused to flinch.

Edgar’s jaw clenched. His gaze flicked briefly my way, then back to the crowd.

Edgar: “My mate is my choice. Not yours. Not the council’s. Not anyone’s. And I have chosen.”

Gasps, growls, rising voices. Some shouted in approval, others in outrage. Brie’s voice cut above them all.

Brie: “Then you damn us all with your weakness.”

Lia: “No, he saves you with his strength!”

The crowd split, voices colliding like storm waves. Wolves growled, argued, shouted. A few raised fists, claws sparking against stone.

Edgar raised his hand again, and his voice thundered.

Edgar: “Enough! You want proof of my strength? Look at me standing here, cursed but unbroken. Look at the wolves beside me, loyal not because I forced them, but because I earned them. That is the strength of an Alpha, not muscle, not a council vote. Loyalty. Unity. Pack.”

Silence. Then slowly, one wolf bowed. Then another. And another.

Within moments, dozens knelt, heads lowered. The square shifted like a living tide until more than half the pack had dropped in submission. The sound of knees hitting stone was louder than any speech Edgar could’ve given.

Brie’s face twisted. Malrick’s mouth pinched. But they couldn’t stop it. Not now.

Edgar’s chest rose and fell hard, his hand white-knuckled on the railing. He looked at me, just for a heartbeat, and I saw it, the flicker of hope in his eyes.

The pack still breathed for him.

For us.